


Chasing Life

by Pey119



Series: Rebirth [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Demigods (Percy Jackson), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Baby Showers, Complete, Established Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, F/M, Limbo, M/M, Nico Feels, Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson Friendship, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace Fluff, Past Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Poor Nico di Angelo, Poor Will Solace, Rebirth, Reincarnation, Rich Nico di Angelo, Sequel, Series, evil Hephaestus, poor living, rich living, rich will solace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 18:29:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19340152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pey119/pseuds/Pey119
Summary: Sequel to Always Chasing After You. Leo dies to find out that his father is part of the Scrubs, and that the fact that he could use fire wasn't just a coincidence. He meets Nico and Will and immediately becomes obsessed with helping them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Leo may be a little OOC but he'll still end up as Leo

Leo opened his eyes, still smelling the fire and still feeling the ash in his throat. He looked to be in a surgery room, a man in black scrubs looking him over. Red eyes, tall, thin.

"Who the hell are you?" Leo greeted.

The man looked to Leo, his eyes boring into Leo's. He didn't speak, didn't make a move.

"M'kay, well, you're a little freaky and I want to go home." Leo tried to sit up but found that he was strapped to the table. "What is this? Some play at a scary movie?"

"Leo." the man spoke from behind his scrubs. The only way Leo knew it was him was because they were alone in the room. "Your father has been waiting for you."

"My father is dead, you asshole. Nice try, though." Leo tried to sit up again. "Damn, give me a screwdriver and I'll be out of here in a minute."

"Your father has been waiting for you," he repeated. He sounded like a robot, his voice holding no emotion. "Please remain still as he comes."

Leo could smell fire again, this time stronger. "I'll burn you to a crisp, you asshole! Let me out!"

The man in scrubs took a step back. "Please relax, Leo. You're burning through your restraints, now."

Leo smirked at the sound, not stopping. The power he had been scorned for in life, the power he had been shut away for. Now, he could use it for his escape again.

"Please relax, Leo." the man's voice was less robotic. "Your father is coming, Leo."

"Your father is coming, Leo." Leo copied. "Please relax, Leo." He pulled one of his arms free of the now smothering restraints, fire covering his tan flesh. "Please remain still as he comes, Leo. Don't catch us all on fire, Leo."

He pulled his other arm free. "Why aren't the fire alarms going off? You have a pretty nasty system here, you oaf." Just as he sat up the metal door opened, revealing a man larger than the last. At seven feet tall, he towered over anyone that walked through the hallway behind him. Lumbering over to Leo, his black scrubs caught fire.

"Leo, please put the fire out." he sat in the chair by the table Leo laid on, not seeming bothered that he was now almost engulfed in flames. "It doesn't smell very good."

"What the hell are you?" Leo backed away from the man, almost hanging off the edge of the table. "Look, I know I'm dead. I'm not an idiot. I don't have a heartbeat. I don't have the wavelengths associated with dreaming. I'm dead, I get it. But what does that make you? I'm not good with souls but I've done some research on mechanical inventions. You've got something fueling you, don't you?"

"Just as you do, my boy." the man who claimed to be his father was anything but what Leo expected. He was large, animated. Leo was thin and nimble. Two different people, two different souls. "I've got fire where my soul should be, just as you do."

"What do you mean?" Leo felt his eyes flash, felt his blood boil. How could this man possibly know the reason of Leo's oddness?

"I'm your father, as I said. You can call me Hephaestus." he laughed, a deep laugh that seemed to vibrate through the room. "I've been waiting for you to die. You can help us on our quest."

"Your quest?" Leo felt the fire burn through his arms, burn through his legs. "You better explain before I burn this place down. I'm smarter than I look. This isn't the normal afterlife, is it? So I'm guessing you're not human, or at least, not anymore. You must be where the fire came from."

Hephaestus didn't have red eyes. No, he had fire in those black sockets. "We've been working for the key to immortality. We're almost there, but we need you, I'm afraid."

"What sick bastard would want to be immortal?" Leo stood up, cursed himself for not having a toolbelt in the afterlife.

"We've mastered it. Almost." Hephaestus also rose to his feet but Leo remained taller, having been standing on the table. "We can only go back as babies, I'm afraid. But you, you can build us a new body, a body that will never age. I know you can."

Leo shook his head. "That's sick. What's in it for me?" His mind began to race, a blueprint already spreading out in front of him. He knew he could do it, but he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"Do you have a choice?" Hephaestus gestured around them. "You're in my territory, now. Don't worry, it'll be fun. You'll have your own workplace. Food, drink, whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" Leo could feel the fire in his own eyes. "I want a workshop like mom used to have. To the very last detail."

Hephaestus tilted his head. "Done. Is it a deal?"

"It's a deal." Leo kept his fingers crossed behind his back.


	2. Chapter 2

Leo scowled at the black scrubs, feeling as if he was in some sort of sci fi movie. The bathroom they stuck him in only held a shower and a mirror, no running water. In the mirror, he saw himself for the first time since he woke up on that table. Black scrubs that hung off his skinny frame, eyes literally lit with fire. He looked badass, but he missed being human.

If that fire never had been started...

No, he wouldn't think about it. It wasn't time to think about death. He'd work for these men but make it hell, make sure they knew who they were messing with. Leo Valdez, at their service whether they liked it or not.

"Breakfast." the knock at the door came with the same robotic voice. "Breakfast time, Leo."

"Right." Leo touched a fingertip against the glass mirror, felt smoke rise from it as the fire began to form. When he pulled his hand away, his mark had been made. Not too destructive, but something to make sure they knew that he wasn't going to play by the rules.

He exited the bathroom to find that whoever had spoken was gone, leaving him alone in a metal hallway. The sound of people talking came from the door at the end, the door going into the part of the building he hadn't stepped foot in yet.

"That better be where breakfast is." Leo started down the hall, playing with the screwdriver he had stolen from his new workplace. Hephaestus had outdone himself at the request, but that didn't mean Leo felt warmly towards him. He was a grown up, he didn't even look human. He wasn't someone to trust.

Leo threw the door open, moving the scrubs down so his smirk could be seen. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Leo Valdez is in the building!" No other time to make a grand entrance, right?

A hundred faces turned to look at him, their eyes glowing unnaturally bright. Confusion, amusement, annoyance. Too many emotions.

"Valdez?" One of them asked, his eyes black. He sat next to a blue-eyed teenager, both of them eating what looked like shit. "A last name? Are you aware that you're dead?"

"Why else would I be wearing this?" Leo gestured to the scrubs. "They took my boots, too. And my toolbelt! How could you stand it?"

Little whispers, little conversations, heads turning back to what they called food. Leo stood still for a minute before going to the one that talked to him, the one with black eyes. "You ever heard of Hephaestus?"

The black eyed boy looked up, his expression turning into a scowl. "Why are you questioning us about Greek mythology? You're a Scrubs. Shouldn't you be, I don't know, screwing up more people's lives?"

"Nico..." the blue-eyed boy looked horrified. "You're going to get us in trouble."

"What more can they do to us?" Nico questioned. "They already have us separated for all eternity."

"Separated? You're right next to each other." Leo sat between the two bickering souls. "And I'll have you know I'm not a Scrubs. My father is. And that's not a creative thing to call them. Call them Soul Workers, or-"

"Life Ruiners." Nico finished. "But that's too long."

"Or assholes." Leo continued. "You didn't let me finish."

Nico gave him a small smile. "So you think they're assholes? How'd you end up with them?"

"As you said, they're life ruiners." Leo shrugged. "I died. Came here. It turns out my dear old dad is one of them."

"Sucks to be you." Nico shoved a forkful of slop into his mouth.

"How'd you die?" Will spoke up. "You were young?"

"Yeah, I was young." Leo still smelled the smoke, still tasted the soot. The soot, the smoke, the blaring fire alarms... "A fire."

"Hey, so did I." Will gave him a fistbump. "That's how Nico and I both died last time. Two planes crashed into these towers and that made a fire in them and the fire got us."

"You know, that's probably the weirdest summery of those events anyone will ever hear," Nico commented. "No doubt that went down in history." He grinned. "Three historical events for me, now. Keep 'em coming."

Leo eyed Will's plate. "Is that stuff any good?"

"Dunno. I have no tastebuds." Will swirled the 'food' with his fork. "What about you, Leo? Is this your first death?"

"My first?" Leo drummed his fingers against the table. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be? You two talk like time travelers."

"Rebirthers." Nico corrected. "Doom to be reborn after each life. I remember, Will doesn't. We're soulmates."

Leo's grin fell. "Oh..."

Nico looked away. "What are you doing here, anyway? I'm trying to spend the little time I have left with my boyfriend."

"When do you have to go back to earth?" Leo asked. "I can try to stall them for you guys."

"Why would you do that?" Nico asked suspiciously. "Why would you try to help us?"

"I hate grownups, man." Leo pulled his screwdriver out and began to spin it into the table. "And I hate my father even more."

Will watched the screwdriver closely. "What'd he say to you? Just say he's your father?"

"Wants me to put my awesome skills to work for him." Leo took some of the wood shavings and stuffed them into a plastic bag. "I wasn't an ordinary human, believe it or not. That's a book, isn't it? The Believe it or Not books?"

Nico shared a look with Will before looking back to Leo. "You're...hyper."

"A life of coffee will do that to you." Leo sealed the bag before dropping it into his pocket. "I'm going to try and build something to let Will keep his memories. Just try to stay here for another day if you can."

"I'm staying for as long as possible," Will promised. "Nico and I both are."

Leo pulled the screwdriver from the table along with more wood shavings. "Well, gotta run. Some things to build, some fires to start. You know the drill."


	3. Chapter 3

Nico laid next to Will, kept him close as the others settled in for the night. They got through another day, stayed together for another 24 hours. For the night they could relax, they could stay with each other without worrying about leaving.

They didn't sleep, they never did. Why waste time that you'd never get back?

It had been a week since they died, a short week full of confusion and answers, full of fear of what would come next. Fear of their next life, fear of being separated again.

"Nico?" Will's soft whisper eroded through the night. "You awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake." Nico moved a hand to Will's hair. "What's up?"

"Do you think Leo will actually help us?" Will asked. "I mean, do you actually think he'll build me something to keep my memories?"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Nico admitted. "The Scrubs like to keep their experiments clean. Even if he makes something, they'll stop him from giving it to you. It'd mess up the experiment."

Will sighed heavily. "I...I'm scared, Nico."

"I know. I am, too." Nico smiled when Will cuddled into him. "But it's going to be okay. We'll meet again. I'll write for you to see, okay? We'll be okay."

Will should have been able to feel Nico's heartbeat, but the other boy was only a soul. He didn't hold a body, didn't hold a heart. No heartbeat to calm Will down, no heartbeat to calm himself down. No heartbeat to beat to the rhythm of life.

"I want our old life back." Will whimpered. "I miss mom and dad. I miss my room and the sandwiches."

Nico stared at the ceiling, his hand laying in Will's hair. "I do, too."

Will whispered memories to himself until he fell asleep, memories of their past life. Waking up after nightmares, sitting on the fire escape, stops for coffee in the morning. The happy memories helped him fall asleep despite knowing that he'd never visit them again.

Some lives you could only live once, and some people just had to die. Getting old was a blessing, a blessing denied to many.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The same night, Leo stayed up late in the workshop he had been given. Two projects to work on, two projects for two different people. One for his father, one for Will. One he felt more strongly for, but the other would be looked over by Hephaestus.

"Leo, have you thought of a plan?" Hephaestus entered the room without a knock or greeting.

"I have some ideas I'm throwing around," Leo admitted. He played with pieces of metal, fitting them together to form a small body. "Between the 12th and early 20th centuries, around 24 monks decided to use mummification to keep their bodies intact. Some believe that they're still intact and that the monks themselves are in deep comas."

"So you're thinking of mummifying us?" Hephaestus asked.

"I'm not done yet. Shut up and listen." Leo twisted the metal arm into a bent position. "Alexander Bogdanov believed that blood transfusions were the key. He seemed to be really healthy until he switched blood with someone that had malaria. He died shortly after."

Leo held up his finger to stop Hephaestus from speaking. "I'm not done yet. There are more theories that I'm working with. One has to do with the enzyme telomerase. It's what stops our bodies from aging. Scientists just can't figure out how to keep it in the human body. So I'll get back to you, okay?"

Hephaestus hummed to himself, his fingers drumming against his thigh. "You really are a smart one, Leo."

"Yeah, yeah, no need to flatter me." Leo waved him away. "Can you leave so I can work in peace? Thanks."

Hephaestus looked to Leo, his fingers twitching. "When do you think everything will be done?"

"I don't know." Leo scowled. "Not anytime soon if you keep bothering me with questions."

Hephaestus moved towards the door. He stopped at the threshold, crushing Leo's hopes of him finally leaving. "Before I go, I have to ask you something. Do you plan on also becoming immortal?"

"Immortal?" Leo felt a spark emit off his fingertip. "Why would I want that?"

Hephaestus sighed. "A disappointing answer, I'm afraid. I thought you were like me, but I guess I was wrong. I'll leave you to your work." He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him, closed the door as he took something away from Leo that he'd never get back.

First, he had the crushing feeling of failure from his mother's death. Now, he had the feeling of failure from a few simple words from his father.

Leo picked up his tools, set to work. Keep working, don't think.


	4. Chapter 4

The only reason Leo was thankful for the black scrubs was because of how many pockets they held. He could fit the bottle into an inside pocket easily, keeping it from the eyes of the other Scrubs while making him feel like an investigator. When he heard people start to head to breakfast, he made sure he had the bottle before leaving the room, leaving behind the blueprints and notes he had for his other project.

When he got to the cafeteria-like room, he immidiately could see that something was wrong. Nico sat at the usual table but was alone, his dark eyes staring into his plate but not eating. Those dark eyes, so full of pain.

"Hey, what happened?" Leo sat next to Nico, wrapping the robe around him that usually went over the scrubs. "Where's the blue eyed kid?"

Nico looked up at him, his expression hardened. "He's...he's probably in a hospital, now. He was reborn."

Leo's eyes widened. "No way..."

"Yeah, I know, it's horrible." Nico stabbed at his slop in anger. "We were so close."

"So I made that for nothing!" Leo cursed. "I stayed up all night for nothing!"

Nico glared at him. "This isn't only about your-...wait, you actually did it? You figured out how to do it?"

Leo nodded. "It was pretty easy. All I had to do was-"

"I could care less about the details." Nico cut in. "Just...keep it, okay? Keep it for the next time he's here. Tell him everything if I'm not here and have him take it. We'll meet again, I'm sure of it."

Leo felt the bottle jostle agianst his ribs. "You want me to save it?"

Nico nodded. "Give it to him when he comes back?"

"That could be years!" Leo protested. "I have things to do, machines to build-"

"Cut the crap, Scrubs." Nico stood up. "Do you want it to go to waste? No, you don't. So save it." He threw his fork into his slop before walking off, leaving the uneaten mess on the table.

"Fine, I'll store it somewhere." Leo picked up Nico's fork, staring down at the slop. "Wonder what this tastes like." Just as the fork touched his lips, a brunette came and smacked it out of his hands.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "Are you trying to screw up your insides?"

"What?" Leo looked up at her, his eyes moving over her in an instant. Brown hair, braids, eyes too many colors to set one out. "Who are you? I'm-"

"Leo Valdez, and I'm not interested." she cut in. "I'm Piper and I have a soulmate so don't even try. And you shouldn't eat someone else's food. It's designed only for his soul."

Leo flicked the fork away from him. "Thanks for telling me."

"Yeah, no problem." Piper stared after Nico. "Poor boy..."

"You know him?" Leo asked. He stared at the food, felt his brain rearranging again.

"Yeah." Piper looked up at the lights, frowning as they started to flash. "That means I have to get going. Bye, Scrubs."

As soon as she was gone Leo snatched another bag from his pocket and poured Nico's food inside, not letting anyone see him. There was a reason behind that food, alright, and Leo was going to figure out exactly what it was.

But for now, all he could do was sneak it back to his workshop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico laid in bed, felt the emptiness where Will used to lay. Now, Nico was alone for the night. No one to talk to, no one to snuggle with. No one.

"Send me back..." Nico whispered, his hands clenched at his sides. "Send me back to earth, please. Give me a chance with him."

Nothing stirred, nobody heard his pleas. Instead, he laid there talking to the darkness. At least the darkness listened, at least that was a friend.

He wanted Will, wanted Percy, wanted Annabeth. He wanted the ones he loved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico opened his eyes to find a Scrubs leaning over him, the red eyes staring at him. Emotionless, cold. He pointed at Nico before pointing to the door, sending relief through Nico's bones. Finally, another life. Finally, he had a chance to see Will.

Down the hallway, to the surgury room. Nico jumped onto the table and laid down, tapping his fingers as he waited for them to get ready.

"You're having an operation, please stay still." the mask was placed over his face. "You're having an operation, please go back to sleep."  
And he did.


	5. Chapter 5

Leo worked through the days, worked through the nights. He smelled like smoke, could always hear the buzzing of machinery, looked like he was covered in what he made his projects out of. Prototypes, models, blueprints. They filled his workplace until he was sure he made a breakthrough.

The bottle he had made for Will still sat in his inside pocket, rubbing against his chest every time he moved. He saved it, saved it just as Nico had asked.

But he started to lose hope that the two soulmates were going to come back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico repositioned the heavy gun in his arms as he stared at the falling rain, the streets now flooded with water. It leaked into his boots, blurred his vision as he saw the last of the ambulances drive off. It had been a hard night, a hard job. But he saved more people than he thought he would have.

"Hey, di Angelo." Percy Reynolds, another on the team, came up to greet him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Nico looked up at the sky. "Quite a storm."

"Indeed it is." Percy watched him closely. "Hey, Nico...have you ever heard of soulmates?"

"Not this shit again..." Nico sighed. "You've lectured me about them before, the whole writing on your skin thing. What's the point? I probably don't have one."

Percy scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Everyone does."

"Not me." Nico took his helmet off, letting the rain hit his face. "Ready for this paperwork?"

"And the meeting." Percy sighed. "Let's get going."

Nico scratched at his wrist, felt the itching of ink. He must have accidentally written on himself again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico sat back against the wall, a bottle of pop in one hand and his phone in the other. A hard day, a hard mission. He knew there'd be hard days when he signed up for the SWAT team, but he still could never get used to it.

A pain in his calf, a splatter of liquid falling to the floor.

"I don't know, Hazel." Nico stared at his sister's caller ID. "I'm too tired to think."

"Come on, Neeks." her voice blurted from the phone as robotic wavelengths. "It'll be fun, I promise. It's tomorrow at four."

Nico scowled. "Hazel..."

"Please?" another splatter of liquid, a sharp intake of breath. "Nico, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Nico hissed. "Pulled a muscle in my thigh, I think. It's been hurting since work."

"I heard about the situation on the news." Hazel's voice grew serious. "That guy sure knew how to take hostages. You sure you're okay? I know a couple of cops died-"

"I'm fine, Hazel." Nico hung the phone up without waiting for her response. He tossed it to the nearby couch, watched it bounce before settling onto the cushions. Red, just like...

"Damn it!" Nico set the bottle on the floor before moving his hands to his thigh, the pain having started to eat him alive. "What the hel-...hell..." He looked down at his hands, saw the blood that had covered them. "Hell...hell..."

He took his shirt off to put it to the wound, trying to stop the blood until he could get himself stitched up. With his arms bare, he saw the ink that he had felt earlier: 'I remember'.

"Remember what?" Nico's attention snapped away from the wound to stare at his wrist. "That's not even my handwriting...I remember..."

Another stab of pain sent him to his feet, his thoughts on the ink disappearing. He needed to fix himself up, needed to get to his first aid kit. A simple sentence didn't matter to him.

Who would have written on him, anyway? The others must have been messing with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo felt the hot fuels of the fire, smelled the iron heating and cooling. His first task was almost complete, his first try was almost ready. Maybe he could stop these guys from ruining peoples lives, maybe he could stop sad stories like Will and Nico.

Maybe he could still fix their story, like he fixed his machines. Maybe he could fix them.

But he heard the Scrubs talking, heard the news that sent shivers down his spine. They had changed two experiments, switched them around, to see if it would work.

They had taken Nico's memories but let Will keep his. It'd be a fun show, they said. It might send their research further.

It would be a fun show.


	6. Chapter 6

Nico knocked on Hazel's door as soon as the clock hit four. After being told that it was unlocked, he opened it up to enter into the most cliche baby shower there was. Hazel was throwing it for a friend, a friend that Nico never bothered to know the name of. It's not like he had friends, anyway.

"Nico!" Hazel rushed to greet her brother, her purple dress flying in the wind it caught as she threw herself into his arms. "You actually came!"

"Yeah, well, I had the day off." Nico kept her close before letting her go. "I came for the food and for a chance to get away from Percy. He wanted to hang out today."

"You can't avoid him forever, Nico. You work with him and he's a good guy." Hazel closed the door behind him. "Just because he can't shut up about soulmates doesn't mean he's bad."

"It's annoying." Nico huffed. "He acts like I'm not getting something."

"You probably aren't." Hazel giggled. "Why are you so against soulmates, Nico?"

"Because I don't see the point of them." Nico moved towards the kitchen, following the smell of strawberries. "I don't even have one."

"Yes, you do." Hazel insisted. "Remember the story I told you? How I met Frank?"

"He wrote on his arm, you responded." Nico took a strawberry off of a plate and popped it into his mouth. "Blah blah, lived happily ever after."

"So," Hazel grabbed his arm. "Write to your soulmate! Please? Has he ever written to you?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Nico sat on the barstool. "I don't pay attention. I have work, Hazel."

"You had to have noticed if you had writing on you." Hazel moved to pull his sleeve up. "Let me see-"

"Hazel, mind your own business." Nico tugged away from her but his heart wasn't in it. He remembered the night before, remembered the words he had scrubbed off his arm. I remember...I remember..."Remember what?"

"Hm?" Hazel looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, nothing." Nico rose to his feet, his legs shaking beneath him. "I...I have to go. I have to go home."

"Nico..." Hazel watched him sadly. "Nico, please."

"I have to go, Hazel." his head spun, memories that didn't make sense rose before his eyes. "I have to go." He stumbled out of the apartment, left quickly before the memories could come full force. He didn't trust himself when they did.

Who would? He was crazy, remembering things that never happened. He was crazy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night was full of nightmares, full of pictures he couldn't remember. He saw himself in an old uniform, saw himself storming through a battlefield, a battlefield from so long ago. He saw himself as a child on the streets, saw himself as a rich kid. Saw himself as a boy that witnessed 9/11.

Saw himself die inside a tower. A nightmare he had had before, before he ever learned of that terrorist attack. A nightmare he couldn't explain.

Blue eyes, blue eyes appeared in every nightmare. Why, he couldn't say. But they made him calm, gave him hope and love. When he woke up in a drunken state of sleep, it calmed him to know that those blue eyes loved him. When he fully woke up, he could never understand why.

So many nightmares, so many...

The morning after the baby shower, he woke with more writing on his wrist. This time, more urgent: 'Nico, it's me. I'm Will. Why won't you answer?'

He tried to ignore it, he really did, but he couldn't get it out of his mind. Finally, he called Percy with a sick sense that something was going to go wrong.

Percy soon came, his eyes watching Nico as he entered the apartment. He sat on the couch, made himself comfortable, refused to look away from him. "What's wrong?"

Nico couldn't look him in the eyes, couldn't face him, couldn't even face himself. Finally, he uttered the two words he never said before. "I'm scared."

"You're scared," Percy repeated. "Of what?"

"I'm scared..." Nico tangled his hands in his hair, curling up into a little ball. "Nightmares...nightmares that shouldn't exist...the writing on my arm..."

"Writing?" Percy looked at him sadly. "Is it from your soulmate?"

Nico shook his head, nodded, made a small action of the two as one. "I...I think...maybe..."

"Write back." Percy moved so he was sitting by Nico. "Just see what happens, okay?"

Nico shrugged helplessly. "Maybe."

Percy got up, starting to search for a pen. "Just calm down. We'll figure this out."

Nico moved his sleeve up, revealing his bare arm. He stared down at the handwriting, tried to decide why it looked so familiar.

"Here." Percy handed him the pen. "Just write a small message."

Nico put the tip of the pen against his skin, stared at it for some time. It was so stupid, so ridiculous. Despite the fact it was so stupid, he still found himself wishing for a response that day.


	7. Chapter 7

Will was binge watching his new favorite anime when he felt the writing on his wrist. He had been trying to contact Nico for years, had been trying to tell him that he remembered. He wanted to express it, wanted to just call him and exclaim "Hey, I remember! We don't have to be afraid anymore! We can be like Percy and Annabeth!"

But Nico never answered and Will felt more alone than ever.

He had grown up hard, grown up without anyone there for him. On the streets, he befriended drug dealers and gang members because he could fix them up for a cheap buck. He remembered his medical training from his old life, remembered the classes he was taking before he decided to run into a crumbling, burning building, a building that most people were running from.

His apartment was small, he had no cable, and the wifi was slow. There was never usually any food in the fridge, nor was there a microwave to cook it in. He lived off of cereal, off of anything he could find.

He was content, or he would have been, if Nico was there.

Nico...what was wrong with him?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico stared at his arm, stared at it until he couldn't anymore and he was forced to blink. He wrote a simple sentence, a simple question: 'who are you?' So far, no answer.

Percy sat with him, his green eyes watching a spider dangle down from its web. From living with Annabeth his first instinct was to kill it, but he knew he had to stay by Nico. Just incase. Something was up, something was wrong. Nico should have remembered.

The clock struck noon when Nico's eyes widened. He watched as a word appeared on his wrist, a word that seemed to strike his heart through: 'Will'.

"Will..." Nico muttered to himself. "Will..." He took the pen, hesitated before writing: 'who are you? Why do you keep talking to me?'

Ten minutes went by before he got an answer, ten minutes of tension based silence. The ink of the answer swirled and fidgeted, wasn't steady as if the writer himself couldn't keep his pen straight. 'Will. Your soulmate. You don't remember?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.' Nico wrote smaller, trying to conserve space on his small wrist.

'Can we meet up and talk?' More simple, more steady. 'Have coffee maybe?'

'Coffee sounds fine.' Nico frowned. 'Where and at what time? Do we even live in the same state?'

'Tell me your zip code. I'll be there.'

Nico glanced at Percy. "Should I really trust this?"

Percy, who had been reading over his shoulder, nodded enthusiastically. "Tell him. I'll go with you if you're that nervous about it."

Nico huffed but wrote down his zip code. Soon enough, Will sent him a location and a time, scheduled for the following day.

"See? That wasn't so hard." Percy got to his feet and stretched. "Now that it's over do you want to grab a bite to eat?"

Nico rose to his feet. "Why not..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo drummed his fingers against the table, having been told the meeting would start soon. His father sat at the head, his large hands sitting in front of him in a calm, peaceful state. Hands that didn't hold a wedding ring even though he swore he had loved a woman, a woman who had raised Leo by herself.

Scrubs filed in, silently, robotically, like puppets on a string. They sat in their seats with folded hands and dead eyes. They wanted to be immortal, they said. That was the main goal. But somewhere along the way, while searching to live, they died inside.

Those he heard whispering were right. These Scrubs weren't human anymore. They were just mere husks of who they once were, husks of humanity.

He hated working for them, but what more could he possibly do?

"Leo's first invention was put into use." Hephaestus stood up with a flutter of his black robe. "The experiment is in action. A boy named Jason is trying it out. So far, he has lived normally. Every so often he'll need to fire up his metal body, but it gets the job done. So far, the experiment is a success."

Leo looked away. Of course, it was a success. For now, anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

Nico tapped his feet, his eyes moving to his watch for the fifth time. It was ten minutes after the designated meeting time, ten minutes after noon. The cafe bounced with life around him, but his own soul held close to nothing. What had he taken off work for? To be stood up by someone he had never meant?

A scowl graced his lips as he glanced around the small building. Others sat with their friends, sat with their significant other. No one else sat alone.

"I was an idiot for even coming." Nico finished his coffee in one swing before tossing the cup into the garbage can. As he stood up to leave, his eyes caught the eyes of a young man that ran in like Death himself was chasing him.

Blue eyes, stunning blue eyes. Blond hair falling into his face and a built body. He stared into Nico's eyes before moving closer to him, a small smile on those pale lips. "Nico?"

"How do you know me?" Nico sat down but stayed on the defensive. "What is this all about?"

"I'm sorry I'm late. It was a long car ride." the man sat in front of Nico with a sheepish smile. "My name's Will Barnes." A rough voice, a nervous twitch of his fingers. "We're soulmates, yeah?" He held his arm out, showed the same writing that stood out on Nico's own pale wrist.

"Soulmates..." Nico traced his finger over the writing on Will's arm. "What did you mean when you said you could remember? Remember what? And how did you know my name?"

Will's smile dropped. "So you really don't remember..."

"Remember what?"

Will watched Nico's finger. "It's a long story. A story you won't believe."

"Try me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hephaestus brought his fists down on the table, his temper flaring along with the fire in his eyes. "Leo Valdez!"

"Uhh...yeah?" Leo looked up from the machine he was currently working on. "What's up?"

"Your project failed!" he stepped closer to Leo, tools rattling in their shelves each time his foot hit the ground. "That boy combusted into flames! We couldn't even harvest his soul!"

Leo put a finger to his chin, acting like he was thinking. "Hm, that's not right."

"You want to tell me what happened?" his father asked.

"How am I supposed to know. I didn't see the incident, you did." Leo pointed to him with his screwdriver. "I would need whatever is left of the body to look it over, tune it up, try to fix the problem."

"I want to know how his soul got to Heaven instead of back here," Hephaestus growled. "I know it was your doing."

"Maybe the blast sent him too far." Leo shrugged. He couldn't help but smile, his plan having worked. He would get all of these souls where they were supposed to go, even if it was the death of him. Then again, he was already dead. Oh well, it was an expression alright.

Hephaestus shook with rage. "Are you playing with me, kid?"

"Now who said that?" Leo asked. "I was just trying to help." He wiped the smirk off his face. "Besides, you can't really fire me for a mistake."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico looked down at the wooden table, tracing the edges with his finger. He sat in silence for some time before looking up, surprised that the boy was still sitting in front of him.

"Well?" Will asked. "How much do you believe me?"

Nico glanced towards the garbage can where he had thrown his coffee away, yearning for more. "I believe you."

Will's eyes widened. "Really?"

Nico nodded. "Doesn't seem like something you'd make up. And we're soulmates so I don't see why you would ever even try to make it up. You'd already have me at your side. It's not like you would need to trick me into it."

Will's face relaxed into a heartwarming smile. "I'm glad you believe me, Nico. I've missed you."

Nico hummed to himself, drumming his fingers against the table. "What was I, my other lives? Do you know?

"Some." Will didn't look away from him for a second. "The first life, as I said, we were soldiers in World War Two. Um...the last life we died in 9/11. I think you were a rich kid somewhere in that mix."

"A rich kid?" Nico scowled. "Was I a stereotypical one?"

Will chuckled. "I don't know, honestly."

Nico smiled at him. Soulmates, huh? He could get used to this man. "Where do you work? What do you do for a living?"

Will's smile turned nervous. "Um...promise not to turn me in?"

Nico raised an eyebrow. "I guess."

"I help gangsters and other fugitives if they're hurt." Will admitted. "I remember my doctor training and it's a good way to get money. It's how I survive."

Nico's fingers stopped drumming against the table. "Soulmates, on opposite sides of the law. Hm."

"Opposite sides?" Will looked him up and down. "What do you do for a living?"

"Most days I do regular police work. Others, if they need it, I'm on the SWAT team. But since they don't need us a lot we're policemen when we're not doing that."

"You're part of the police?" Will laughed again. "We really are on opposite sides, huh?"

Nico shrugged. "Guess so."


	9. Chapter 9

Leo stepped back from his work, the hot fires licking at his skin. In front of him, his new project was complete. He made two, knowing the Scrubs would try both. Two more souls that could go to Heaven instead of being stuck in limbo.

Limbo...was he also stuck in limbo?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico knew the job was dangerous. He knew when he took it. But still, even after all these years, after seeing all those deaths, he never expected to die.

But there he was, Saturday afternoon, storming a building he knew nothing about. A building where he knew one of the hostages to be Will. It clouded his judgment, caused him to make a mistake that day.

Once again, it was a bullet that killed him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico woke up on a metal bed with Will at his side. The blue-eyed boy was sleeping peacefully, his head laying on Nico's chest. His hair looked to be a mix of colors, his skin tone wasn't just one. At once, Nico could see all the bodies Will had inhabited before.

Only if he knew this before, then he could have shoved the information in the faces of the racist assholes. It didn't matter what body Will had inhabited before. He was still Will, he'd always be Will.

Will...

"Will, wake up." Nico gently shook him awake. "Are we...are we at that place you described? What even happened? How'd you die, too?"

"Hm?" Will blinked away sleep. "What?"

Nico snapped in front of his face. "How'd you die, William?"

"Oh, I killed myself." Will closed his eyes again. "I wanted to be here with you."

Nico's eyes widened. "You..actually killed yourself...just to be with me?"

"Course. I had no fear cause I knew where I was going." Will pulled the blanket over them. "Night."

"Wait, wait." Nico flicked his forehead. "I...I love you, Will."

"Love you, too." Will murmured. "Goodnight, now."

"Goodnight." Nico smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They didn't even get to breakfast before they were stopped by the Scrubs. Two large guys, their eyes black. They gestured for them to follow, follow into a part of the Facility that they hadn't been in before.

The metal hallways all looked the same. This one, however, had patches of soot on the ground and some piles of ash. One of the walls was dented, looking like someone had put up a fight.

Nico grabbed Will's hand, relaxed at the other being there. It'd be okay, it'd be okay, it'd be okay...

"Where are we going?" Will squeaked. "This isn't the right way to the surgery room."

The Scrubs didn't answer nor did the hallway end. It kept on, kept showing more and more doors. Finally, when Nico was about to speak up, the two Scrubs stooped in their tracks and gestured to a door.

Nico looked to Will, his voice low. "Should we go in?"

Will shrugged before opening the door. He stepped inside, slowly. The room looked to be a workplace, with long tables and large machines. A boy in black scrubs hunched over one table, sparks emitting from the tool he used.

"Leo?" Will's eyes widened. "You're still here."

Leo looked behind him, his eyes widening when he saw the two soulmates. "You're who they chose?"

"Who they chose?" Nico crossed his arms. "What's going on?"

Leo ran to them, his voice kept low to make sure nobody overheard. "They've been having me make inventions for them, try to get them immortal bodies. They test them on people like you. Every time the invention goes wrong, whoever was trying it can't be brought back here. Their soul finally goes to Heaven."

Will looked like he was about to cry in relief. "You're serious? That's possible?"

Leo nodded. "They must have chosen you two this time if they sent you here. That's good. That means you can live your next life and then go to Heaven. You won't ever have to come back here again."

Nico held his hand up. "Hold up, Sparky. What if I can't remember again? Will said they used to take his memories, but this time they took mine."

Leo got the bottle from his inner pocket and held it out. "Each of you drink half. That should keep your memories in you for now. Hurry up, they'll start suspecting something's up if we take too long."

Will didn't hesitate. He drank half before handing it to Nico, his blue eyes bright in the sparks. "Drink it. It'll be okay."

Nico finished the bottle, crumbling it in his hand before tossing it to the floor. "Okay, we're ready."

Leo put on goggles. "Let's do this."


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Nico grew up at Will's side. They stuck by each other as they grew up on the streets, as they tried to get their new bodies to look like any other human's. They remembered everything, they loved each other, they basked in the idea that they would never go back to the Facility. Immortality was never as good as people thought.

They never got to reach sixteen. The night before their birthday, they went up in flames. A mechanical mistake, Leo would blame it on. A horrible mistake. Their souls couldn't be retrieved no matter how hard the Scrubs tried.

Finally, they were free.


End file.
